The Chinese New Year starts Sunday. I can already hear illegal firecrackers going off outside my apartment window. Chinese friends are complaining about the high cost of the holiday, from price gouging to the apparently required gift of two or more bottles of expensive liquor to tons of relatives (you'd lose face if you just gave fruit). Decorations are up at all the stores, and they're not all traditional. Makes the celebrations in US Chinatowns seem positively old-fashioned.

I'm flying to DC tomorrow because there are no classes next week and travel in China during the country's most important holiday isn't exactly recommended.